Tesori Family Foundation hosts another in a series of golf clinics for special-needs children
The Tesori Family Foundation, founded by former PGA Tour player and current Tour caddie Paul Tesori of St. Augustine will host another in a series of its golf clinics for children with special needs on Oct. 12 at the TPC Sawgrass practice range.
Tesori, along with his wife Michelle, have a special-needs child, Isaiah. Since 2014, the Tesori Family Foundation, along with the PGA Tour, First Tee and Tour sites at the TPC Sawgrass, Wyndham Championship, Wells Fargo Championship and the Sanderson Farms Championship has hosted the All-Star clinics for children between the ages of 8 and 18.
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They are assisted at the clinics by players from the PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour and LPGA Tour, other Tour caddies and local college players.
The clinic at the TPC Sawgrass, which will host 27 children from the First Coast, is full. It's in conjunction with National Down Syndrome Awareness Month in October. Among the guests will be Chris Nikic, the first person with Down syndrome to compete in an Ironman competition.
For more information on the All-Star Kids Clinic Program visit the Tesori Family Foundation at tesorifamilyfoundation.org/askc.
College players earn honors
There has been a flurry of area college players earning player of the week honors in their respective conferences.
In the case of the University of North Florida women's program, it was a back-to-back situation for the second time in 18 months.
Christin Eisenbeiss was named the ASUN women's player of the week for the fourth time in her career after winning the individual title at the Lady Palladin. She shot 8-under 208 and was the only player in the field with two rounds in the 60s.
The week before, Wyndom Burnett was named ASUN player of the week after she tied for sixth in the Badger Invitational at the University of Wisconsin at 2-under 214.
UNF has earned 33 ASUN weekly honors since the program began in 2012-13, the second most in the ASUN over that span. Eisbenbeiss earned back-to-back player of the week honors in the spring of 2021.
The UNF men's program got its 60th ASUN player of the week award when Robbie Higgins notched his third for winning the Windon Memorial Classic. He is the 10th player in program history to win three or more.
Flagler College's Jordyn Hodgson was named the Peach Belt women’s player of the week after coming in second in the Golfweek D2 Fall Invitational. She was 2-over 215, tying for the second-best 54-hole total in school history.
Windy Harbor re-opens
One of the most popular military golf venues in the Southeast is back.
The Windy Harbor Golf Club, at Naval Station Mayport, re-opened on Oct. 7 after a seven-month renovation project.
The course, originally built in the 1950s by the Navy Seabees, had been closed since March. The project cost $940,000, according to the Navy.
Windy Harbor had been rebuilt in 2000 as part of a $2.7 million project.
The course is one of the most popular for military, retirees and their guests. It did 47,574 rounds in 2021.
Mattiace cited in PGA program
Alivia Mattiace of Jacksonville is one of the class of 2022 for the PGA Works Fellowship, which provides a one-year, paid "immersion" in a PGA Section’s Foundation operations.
She will represent the North Florida PGA Section.
The Fellowship provides entry-level opportunities for individuals from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds to gain experience in all facets of the golf industry. The Fellowship gives recent college and university graduates a first-hand look at everything that a career in the golf industry can provide.
Mattiace attends Oglethrope University.
JAGA in the fall
The Jacksonville Area Golf Association has four tournaments left on its 2022 schedule, with openings in all of them.
Next on the tee is the JAGA Four-Ball on Oct. 11 at Eagle Harbor. The format will be two-player teams with gross and net divisions, with a 9 a.m. shotgun start. Entries have already closed and the field is close to full at 40 teams.
The JAGA Club Team tournament will be Nov. 7 at the World Golf Hall of Fame King & Bear. The teams will be one PGA professional or associated, and three amateur sfrom the same JAGA club. One gross ball and one net ball will be counted, with competition for low pro and a pro skins game. It will begain at 9 a.m.
The JAGA Scholarship tournament will be Nov. 17 at Deerwood, with the proceeds going to the JAGA Scholarship Trust. It's a captain's choice format for amateurs and professionals, with a 10 a.m. shotgun start.
The final event is the fourth edition of what has now become a holiday tradition, the JAGA Family Championship Dec. 17 at the Jacksonville Beach Golf Club. Two-play scramble teams can be formed by any two family members, with net and gross divisions.
Information and entry for all JAGA tournaments can be found by visiting jaxareagolf.org.
Libby elected to PGA post
Hidden Hills owner and general manager Russ Libby has been elected to a position on the PGA of America Board and will be sworn in at the PGA’s annual meeting in Phoenix in November. Libby will be the District 13 Director and represent the Georgia, North Florida and South Florida PGA Sections. ... The Northern Chapter PGA elected Wes Tucker of the St. Johns Golf Club as president and Carl Miller of the World Golf Village as vice-president. Both will serve two-year terms. The secretary post will be voted upon on December. ... The Women’s Care Peace at Home Pro-Am Tournament scheduled for Oct. 24 at the Plantation at Ponte Vedra has been canceled.
Contact Garry Smits at gsmits@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @GSmitter
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Tesori Family Foundation hosts another in a series of golf clinics
